Photo by michael starghill

Councilmember Michael A. Brown (I-At Large) very strongly hinted but did not outright declare that he will be a candidate in the special election next April 23 for an At-Large member of the D.C. Council. In an interview on NewsTalk With Bruce DePuyt, Brown, who was defeated on November 6 by independent David Grosso, did not formally enter the race, though he gleamed at the prospect of changing his party registration to the Democratic Party.

Brown, the son of Clinton administration Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, has served on the Council as an independent because of the body’s rules dictating that no more than two of the four At-Large seat can be held by the majority party. But with Grosso about to join David Catania as At-Large independents, Brown is free to run as a Democrat.

“I’ve just completed a very successful listening tour,” he told Bruce DePuyt. “Folks have told me my work is not done.” Brown added that people have told him that he is the “conscience of the council” on issues like housing and anti-poverty programs.

And while Brown did not announce an actual decision, he certainly hinted that he’s ready to run. “We’re putting together the apparatus,” Brown, wearing a pink gingham shirt under a heather gray half-zip sweater, said.

But Brown’s last campaign was marked by a finance scandal in which nearly $114,000 went missing from its account. The missing funds are being investigated by U.S. Attorney Ron Machen’s office, and DePuyt asked Brown if there was any update in the case.

“They traced the dollars,” Brown said. “Not to me.”

Brown also expressed relief that—in the event that he runs—he would appear on a ballot that does not also feature the name of Michael D. Brown, a shadow senator with whom Michael A. Brown has said he is often confused.

In the mean time, if Brown is running, he might not get going on it until January 2, when he officially becomes a Democrat. He’ll need to collect at least 3,000 verifiable signatures by January 26 to get on the ballot. And as popular as Brown says he is, that’s a tall order to fulfill in just over three weeks’ time.